Obama Mounts Aggressive Campaign This Week for Strike

9/9/2013 9:17AM

In a week likely to define his presidency, President Barack Obama will try to surmount growing national hostility to his proposal for a U.S. military strike against Syria. Jerry Seib joins the News Hub. Photo: AP.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... the the ... is this the challenging week for President Obama as he tries to Congress and the American people ... to back his plans to air strikes against Syria ... morning welcome the New Saab on Michael Casey ... Bozo is going to be risky gambit to President Obama's Obama might not have been aware of how much this is this he would price twenty announced that he would seek congressional approval ... before launching strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ... Patel is needed to stem its alleged use of chemical weapons ... Washington bureau chief Jerry Sithe joins us with more than difficult sell it all present Obama has in front of in the morning Jerry ... good morning ... today ... as up-front price realized out today a broad coalition of opponents ... to the strikes could get the relevant point ... is let's cut the tax ... what the implications of the president files to get the cut ... well look I think the first in the first is is the president a say in his address to Marnie what the administration worries about most which is that this was on the wrong signal to Iran that when you're telling the Syrians ... they can ... cross a redline when it comes to the use of the weapons of mass destruction ... you can lose your credibility when you say the Iranians ... you can cross a redline when it comes to development of weapons of mass destruction ... so that'll be that'll be the first target there'll be a secondary that which is the piece is serious harder to find if you don't do something now to change the military equation that ... the Syrian government ... and is rushing benefactors have no reason to turn diplomacy now because they think that a lot in the long run their system prevail militarily so there's also a tactical argument Syria that's going to be used ... to say there are the consequences are dire it's at the facts and doesn't come ... Everett is this what was it you will either cut above his knees up against one of the Whittlesea prices of Cosi has some support from the leadership in the house ... and out in a Senate committee vote and five are in the Senate ... I'm that with that clearly there's a lot of ... rank and file in both parties to time really to up on this one ... that that's right and probably an understatement um you know I think that the odder still that he'll get some resolution out of the Senate where ... the people are quite isn't a concern to the popular opinion they have six years a deterrent to use the term so they think they can ride out waves like this ... a little better in the house it's it's basically a block of odd bedfellows you have ... libertarian Republicans ... and liberal Democrats who are equally oppose though for slightly different reasons ... and ... as the story that the Journal that over the weekend indicates this is a sign of how much the houses change ... the part of the glue that held held the national security consensus together on issues like this in the past look ... was a block conservative Democrats for people like Ike still in from Missouri close people work on that and they have been replaced either by Republicans who are increasingly skeptical about involvement abroad ... off or buy more liberal Democrats and that the consensus for military action or just basically in a case like this when you're not sure ... supporting the president on national security question has been polluted considerably ... historically has been a lot of ... resistance in Congress think it gets the idea of resisting the commander in chief of confidence in the show's national weakness if you well ... is that something that ultimately could lead people in his five of the ... reluctance to actually are ... Jody is the president ... Friday I think if he if he prevails or that'll probably be the principal reason in you're going to hear Nancy policy are yet to see Nancy policy the House speaker and ... probably the most support Democrat now on this question ... um make that argument to to to wavering Democrats the look you may not be may not believe the cases rock-solid for doing this ... you really wanna undermine a president our party's president for the last three half years of his term ... that's Tages for the U S that's an argument that you're going to hear repeatedly I think in the next few days ... it will sway some members if you're if you're fence sitters an argument that can prevail ... the problem the White House has is I think they're looking at ... more people who are now firm those not just mean those are fence sitters than anticipated ... I clearly there is this big a problem of water is going to the Middle East it's a very messy situation ... comes up when the situation has the president's goal after ... honestly I'm on a ... dime not sure that that that threat is Isreal is the presence of what you think it is a mean ... if there were a Tele Asian against American targets directly by Syria or its allies that simply would give President Obama a better argument for continuing the engagement in Syria ... on the show that's what the Syrians want I think they ... are more delicate problem for the White House might be that if the Syrian response ... were to be kind of a massive conventional offensive against ... the opposition and again some civilians frankly ... aam and the present as are a result he's not to get involved in the warm really make a strike to to to to make a point of the chemical weapons what is the US due in the case that may be a bigger and more difficult ... equation so I think there's Deathly fear of retaliation as we reported last week there racing signals between Iran and its allies in Iraq then maybe there are these attacks on US targets in Iraq and degree in response to ... any U S strike in Syria but I think there are other an eighty bigger dangers of bread and the direct retaliation danger ... will we wait the wood to suit the present the site of a nice money state forests Marnie ... Jerry thank you very much his time ...